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88 Keyes
First appearance: April 15, 1943. 88 Keyes was a piano player with a penchant for women, money and murder. Character Biography Keyes was head of a muder gang that murdered the millionaire A.B. Helmet at the request of Helmet's wife. He later murdered his accomplice singer Jinny Linn and kept her corpse in his piano and tried to put it in storage--where it was found by Dick Tracy. While he was on the run with Mrs. Helmet {and her insurance money}, she fell asleep in his car and he left her to die on the train tracks right as a train was going toward the automobile. 88 evaded the police and took a job as a hired hand on George Wheaten's farm, under the alias "Mr. Smith". Wheaten's adolescent daughter Nellie noticed how well 88 played the organ and began to show great affection for him, which repulsed him. 88 disposed of his musician's union card by tearing it up and tossing the pieces in one of the farm's milk cans. This can eventually made its way to the city, where it was found and attracted the attention of Dick Tracy, who was investigating the murders. Taking advantage of Nellie's affections, 88 convinced her to help him hide from Tracy. She then agreed to help him steal her father's car an make his escape. Nellie hid in the car as well, eventually revealing her presence to 88, who was annoyed at the added complication. He had Nellie disguise herself as a boy to avoid detection. They soon encountered Red Bluff, an AWOL Navy Seaman and old friend of Nellie's family. Red recognized 88, and tried to use this knowledge against him. When Nellie discovered that 88 was a killer and fugitive, she tried to wreck the car with all of them in it. Nellie was knocked out while Keyes and Bluff escaped the wreckage. 88 killed Red rather than go on the run with him. However Tracy was on 88's trail and found the body of Red. When Tracy caught up to 88, Keyes had hidden in a cramped tool shack next to a railroad track. Knowing that 88 was armed, Tracy refused to take any chances on the fugitive escaping again. Tracy offered 88 a chance to surrender. When Keyes refused to give answer, Tracy fired bullets froma machine gun into the shed in an X pattern. 88's body (and loaded gun) fell out of the shed, ending the pursuit. Tracy returned Nellie back home to the farm. Appearances in Other Media 'Archie's TV Funnies' In the 1971 "Archies TV Funnies" animated series, 88 Keyes was a thief who used musical notes to commit robberies. Tracy turned the tables on him and used the notes against Keyes. '1990 Film' In the 1990 Disney M ovie, 88 Keyes was portrayed by Mandy Patinkin. 88 was the piano player at the Club Ritz, and had been in the employ of Lips Manlis, when the club was taken over by Big Boy Caprice. It was implied that 88 had hidden feelings for the singer Breathless Mahoney, as evidenced in the song "What Can You Lose?". He, like the other entertainers at Club Ritz, were overworked and exhausted by Big Boy's constant neverending rehersals. 88 Keyes was called to the city car park by a raspy anonymous person, where he was given a note and a payment of $5,000 by his mysterious benefactor. The deal was that Keyes should give the letter to Big Boy, not including the knowledge that he had met with the sender "because you never saw me". 88 finally got a good look at the creepy faceless felon known as "The Blank" and ran off. Keyes then beghan to act as the go-between for Big Boy and the Blank. Keyes aided the Blank in framing Dick Tracy for the murder of D.A. Fletcher. Following the raid on the Club Ritz, Keyes was one of the few criminals who were taken into custody alive. Max Allan Collins' novelization of the film portrays 88 as Breathless' paramour. The novel implies that Big Boy and Lips Manlis both allow 88 to spend so much time with Breathless because they believe he is gay. In the follow-up novel "Dick Tracy Goes to War", 88 has paid his debt to society and is once again playing piano, this time at the club owned by Vitamin Flintheart. 88 reveals his real name: Clarence Keyes. He was recruited to join the subversive organization being run by Mrs. Pruneface, mostly through his involvement with fellow conspirator Black Pearl. 88 took advantage of the rift that had developed between Tess Trueheart and Dick Tracy, and he attempted to gain her affections. 88 gained Tess' trust, which enabled him to abduct her, allowing Mrs. Pruneface to create a plaster cast of Tess' face to use as the basis for a mask. When Mrs. Pruneface instructed 88 to kill Tess and dispose of her body, 88 had a pang of conscience. He left Tess alive in a warehouse and phoned an anonymous tip to the police, saying where she could be found. He then fled. Tracy later stated that he imagined 88 in South America, playing piano in a bar somewhere. Notes *88's name is derived from the number of keys on a standard piano. It was not established if this was his real name or an alias. Known Associates *Mrs. Helmet (Deceased) * Jinny Linn (Deceased) *Nellie Wheaten *Red Bluff (Deceased) *Piano Turner Can Be Found *The Celebrated Cases of Dick Tracy Category:Deceased Category:Movie Characters Category:Musicians Category:Hired Killers